The raw ham "Il Botto" was produced in Alta Val Seriana at least a century and a half ago.
In the past, farmers used various expedients such as marc, hay, ashes or marble holes to hide cheese, lard and ham. And, without knowing it, they activated chemical processes that made these foods delicious.
Probably the same thing happened to the ham from Bergamo produced in Ardesio, in Alta Val Seriana: more than a century and a half ago, in fact, it was hidden in the hay because it was the most precious product of the slaughter of pigs. The result was a pleasant surprise.
In the nineties of the last century this production was resumed, always in Ardesio, by Cà del Botto. From the local butchering of Bergamo pigs that are at least nine months old and fed in the traditional way, the legs are immediately processed and then the various stages of seasoning are carried out, without subjecting the product to any trauma as a result of transport.
The magic place, the pure and dry air of the valley, the correct feeding of the pigs, allow to guarantee important biochemical and enzymatic processes during the seasoning which lasts 16 months, during which the ham is placed in a room with a bed of hay that transmits characteristic scents.
The result is unique: intense, persuasive, full-bodied, with the right balance between sweet and salty and both vegetable and dried fruit notes, great finesse and long persistence.
